


prompts

by yeehaw_heehaw



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Cats, Chores, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, post-S3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:34:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23077912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeehaw_heehaw/pseuds/yeehaw_heehaw
Summary: a variety of ‘pairing + prompt’ prompts i’ve been sent
Relationships: Gwaine/Merlin (Merlin)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 40





	1. merwaine + cat (teen)

**Author's Note:**

> if u want to send me pairings + prompts (doesn't have to be pairings), please send them to: https://curiouscat.me/bogwarlock
> 
> (doesn’t have to be merlin but as long as i know it !!)

> _Prompts, eh? 🤔 Merwaine. Gwaine finds a cat in his chambers, and Merlin walks in on Gwaine just petting it and being all "aren't you the most adorable thing" and the cat purring a whole lot lol  
> _
> 
> rating: t for language

The haze of sleep slowly faded from his mind, pulled away by something cold and wet touching the tip of his nose. Desperate for just a few more minutes of slumber, Gwaine refused to open his eyes even a little bit. His arm came up so he could rub his nose, getting rid of the strange wetness there, but once he was done he left his hand lying on the bed in front of him, deeming the task of moving his arm back down too difficult.

The cold wetness returned only a moment later with something nudging his nose, and Gwaine was finally awake enough to understand that no, this definitely wasn’t a normal occurrence. But before he could do anything, several sharp points dug into his skin.

“Fuck!”

His head jerked back automatically, the points scraping against his skin as he freed his nose from the onslaught of pain, and his eyes opened. They took a few moments to adjust to the light, and to what he saw in front of him.

Large, green eyes met his own, unblinking.

Gwaine could only stare, and eventually the kitten moved forward to bump her own nose against his. He wrinkled his nose in response, moving away and, again, wiping away the wetness.

“Don’t try it,” Gwaine warned as he propped himself up on one arm and wagged a finger in front of her tiny face. She watched the movement of the finger with keen eyes, her tail swaying back and forth.

Gwaine moved his hand to her side, running his fingers through the soft (so soft!) fur, scratching her head next to her ears, and marveling at how fluffy she was.

He’d been all over before he settled down in Camelot, and as such, he’d met many friendly - and unfriendly - animals. Cats had always been his favorite. Graceful and elegant…until they weren’t. Skillful hunters, but friendly to any person who could spare food. No matter how hungry he might’ve been at points and how little food he’d have with him, he could never say no to their tiny faces. Was it a weakness? Gwaine didn’t think so.

Speaking of food…

-

Merlin was having a day, to say the least. Arthur had yelled at him a bit that morning, which wasn’t anything unusual, but he’d spent the entire night wandering the castle, evading guards and attempting to find the location of several cursed objects, placed by some vengeful sorcerer or other. A giant scavenger hunt.

As a result, he was tired, and irritated, and he just wanted to go back to his bed. And what a bed it was… certainly not as soft as anything the nobles had, but several upgrades from sleeping on the ground. It was so soft, so perfect…

And where was Gwaine going with all that food?

Gwaine and Percival stealing from the kitchens used to make him laugh, and Merlin had, occasionally, helped them in their efforts. He quickly stopped once Audrey had caught on and told him off, loudly, in front of the entire kitchen (and also mentioned something about the way he insulted how she smelled. He still didn’t understand what that was about).

He discouraged the two knights from stealing food after that, if only so they wouldn’t have to go through what he did, and he thought they’d understood. But with the way Gwaine was badly concealing an entire cooked chicken as he walked close to the wall, away from the kitchens… apparently not.

So Merlin did what anyone would do.

He followed Gwaine.

Merlin was careful to stay back from Gwaine far enough, but with how Gwaine was so focused on hiding the chicken, he probably wouldn’t have even noticed if Merlin had been right next to him.

Gwaine led Merlin back to his own chambers, and so there was at least one mystery solved. The other one was why exactly one man would need so much chicken.

There was no choice but to follow Gwaine into his room if he wanted to find that answer, so he did.

The chicken was left on Gwaine’s table by itself, and the man himself was lying on his bed, next to a kitten. Since when did Gwaine have a cat?

Gwaine was speaking softly, telling the kitty how gorgeous she was, all while giving her pets. The kitten herself was blinking slowly, eyes not open fully like she’d just been woken from a nap, but despite such, she was purring loud enough for Merlin to hear from the doorway.

“..Gwaine?”

“Merlin!” Gwaine’s eyes were full of delight as he looked to Merlin and waved him over.

“Look at her, Merlin. _Aren’t you the most adorable thing?_ ” Gwaine’s last words were directed towards the kitten, his voice hiking up a few levels. Merlin had never heard Gwaine’s voice like that, but to be fair, pets had a way of bringing out the soft side in any person.

The cat purred in response. Actually, it was a bit concerning how loudly she was purring.

“I found her this morning,” Gwaine told Merlin, and Merlin couldn’t the warm. It was obvious how fond Gwaine had grown of the tiny creature, and not even a full day had passed. “Still have no idea how she got in here.”

Merlin sat next to Gwaine and reached out to pet the kitten’s soft fur. “You’ll have to keep Arthur from knowing about her, you know he won’t like this.”

Gwaine scoffed. “Sod Arthur. If he tries to take her away, I’ll fight him myself.”

“And get arrested, again?”

“Yes.”

“Well don’t expect me to help you at all,” Merlin laughed. “Except for her. I’ll definitely watch over her while you await punishment for your crimes.”

“You’d be there too, you know,” Gwaine nudged him, “Don’t think I won’t name you as my accomplice.”

“Fine, we’ll escape together. Or I’ll escape and leave you by yourself.”

“Rude!” Gwaine told him, affronted.

“And who’d watch over the kitty while we’re both in the dungeons?”

“Ehh,” Gwaine said, “Gaius?”

Merlin and Gwaine could only watch each other for a few seconds before they started laughing. Merlin dug his face into Gwaine’s shoulder.

“Gaius,” Merlin repeated, slightly muffled, “ _Gaius_.”

“Well he’d better be willing to look after her. She is his granddaughter, after all.”

“She is?” Merlin moved back to look at Gwaine.

“Ah… if you’d like her to be?”

It was hard to tell when Gwaine was nervous, what with his reputation for being brave and reckless. But the way his eyes kept moving rapidly back and forth between Merlin’s was a dead giveaway.

“I’d like that,” Merlin said, moving his hand down to hold Gwaine’s hand. Gwaine squeezed Merlin’s hand in response.

“We still have to name her before she meets her grandfather, though.”  
  



	2. merlance + post s3 (general)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if u want to send me pairings + prompts (doesn't have to be pairings), please send them to: https://curiouscat.me/bogwarlock
> 
> (doesn’t have to be merlin but as long as i know it !!)

> _prompt: perhaps something merlance?  
>  _  
>  rating: general audiences

With the destruction and mayhem Morgana and Morgause brought during their short reign of Camelot, rebuilding the citadel and lower town took time. There were shops and homes to be rebuilt, and grievings to be had. But sure enough, the kingdom was rebuilt to something even better than it formally had been.

Merlin felt lighter than he’d felt in a long time. Maybe it was disrespectful of him to say, what with the king being deathly ill and all, but. Uther.

It couldn’t be denied that the times were changing, and Arthur’s newfound role as leader of the kingdom was looking to be a shining beacon of new and more hopeful times to come. Arthur had taken control as prince regent, and his first act was to knight four commoners (as far as he knew, four). He had commissioned a round meeting table, to show that the people who sat around it were not anymore important than the person next to them, whether they were born into the highest and richest family, or to farmer parents.

There were some unfortunate things, of course. Morgana and Morgause had gotten away to wherever, and they’d surely be planning another attack. And Arthur’s uncle had come to stay. (Merlin did _not_ like him, even though he didn’t really have a reason to. Yet. He’d find one.)

But for now, there was a brief moment of peace in Camelot, and the people were enjoying it before the next attack came.

The four new knights were still accustoming to their new roles, but they were learning quickly. No one was happier than Merlin to see these people, his friends, become knights, and to see Arthur disregard a prejudice his father had held Arthur’s entire life.

And _Lancelot_ … to see him back in Camelot again, fulfilling his life’s ambition of being a knight (thankfully without any lawbreaking this time, however awful said law may be). There was nothing better.

Right now, the two were in Merlin’s room, Merlin sat on the side of his bed and Lancelot in the chair facing him. Merlin was extremely eager to spend time with and tell Lancelot of his adventures. He was the only person who both knew about Merlin’s magic and was a friend. And no other reason, of course.

“...and so Uther’s hair had entirely disappeared-“

“ _Entirely_?”

“Yes!”

Merlin was laughing, and Lancelot had a big smile pulled over his face. As noble as he may be, it was very pleasant to hear embarrassing stories of someone so _un_ pleasant.

“And how did the goblin get out in the first place?”

“Uh,” Merlin said, “It’s not that important. Anyways… how have you been? We’ve exchanged letters, obviously, but…”

“Oh, I’ve been well. I’ve traveled to many places since the last we saw each other, as you know. Got into a few… scrapes, and met Percival. But I’m nothing less than thrilled to be back here, Merlin. I feel at home.”

“I’m glad, Lancelot,” Merlin told him, “Really. You deserve to be a knight more than anyone.”

Lancelot laughed. “I’m not sure about that. But I’m glad to help where I’m able to. Those months after my banishment… they weren’t easy. I did things I’m not proud of.”

“I have too,” Merlin told him, “But that doesn’t make you a bad person, Lance. It wasn’t your fault you landed in those circumstances.”

“Thank you… thank you, Merlin. That means a lot,” Lancelot said, as he watched Merlin closely. “And Merlin, you’re one of the best people I know. I know that you’d never do anything that you didn’t need to do.”

Merlin nodded as he returned Lancelot’s stare with a smile.

“So, have you met Agravaine, yet? I don’t like him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so a few things:
> 
> 1) i haven’t watched a lancelot episode in so long i’m sorry  
> 2) i was listening to rage against the machine while i finished this up.... not the ideal vibe for this lmao  
> 3) i got the ship but didn’t actually get like, a prompt for the ship and apparently i suffer with too much creative freedom


	3. merwaine + chores together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if u want to send me pairings + prompts (doesn't have to be pairings), please send them to: https://curiouscat.me/bogwarlock
> 
> (doesn’t have to be merlin but as long as i know it !!)

> _could you do a small os about gwaine casually helping merlin with chores? and merlin points it out and gwaine is like i just like spending time with you :')_
> 
> rating: general audiences

It started when a series of knocks came to the doors of Arthur’s chambers.

The knocking was an upbeat and fun pattern, the sort a person would give only when they were close to the person whose doors they were knocking on. It was also, as the people closest to Arthur would know, on the massive list of pet peeves that he held. He preferred a simple couple of knocks, so Arthur could quickly yell permission to enter his chambers and get right to the point of whatever matter needed his attention.

Fortunately for Arthur, Merlin was the only person occupying the room at the time of the knock. And fortunately for Merlin, he knew exactly who that certain pattern of knocking belonged to.

Not that Gwaine used said upbeat, fun pattern of knocking when it came to anyone else but Arthur, naturally.

“Gwaine,” Merlin said, “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Was looking for His Majesty,” Gwaine said, lifting his eyebrows and widening his eyes in mock wonder as he spoke the title.

“He’s not here right now, just me,” Merlin told Gwaine, then squinted his eyes in suspicion. “I’m pretty sure he’s on the training field. You’re welcome to watch me clean boots if you’d like, though,” he said as he moved back to the table, where Arthur’s boots were lined up in a neat row.

Gwaine lifted his head up. “I can help.”

“...Do you know how to clean boots?”

“I helped you with the boots when I first came to Camelot, remember?”

“I’m pretty sure you mostly just glared at the boots and hit them with your brush, actually.”

Gwaine elected to ignore his words. Instead, he sat on the arm of Merlin’s chair, and plucked the brush right out of Merlin’s hand. He ignored Merlin’s cry of protest, and maintained eye contact with Merlin as he moved the brush down in one long stroke over Arthur’s dusty boot. Merlin huffed out a laugh and grabbed the only other brush off the table. “Alright, sure. It’s boring work, though.”

“No worries,” Gwaine said and nudged Merlin with his elbow, “We have each other to keep us company, don’t we?”

Merlin ducked his head and smiled at the boot he held in his lap. “Looks to be that way.”

The next few minutes were filled only with the faint sounds of the bustle in the citadel outside, and brushing. There was no talking, but Merlin and Gwaine were close enough that sharing silence wasn’t an uncomfortable occasion between them. Eventually though, Gwaine broke the silence.

“So, how have you been?”

“How’ve I been?”

“Yeah, well,” Gwaine said, “I feel like we haven’t seen each other that much lately. You didn’t seem in the mood for talking when we last did.”

“Oh… on the trip?”

“After, when you were bringing food to Arthur. Y’know… when I tried to ‘soil his food with my filthy fingers,’” Gwaine said, using said fingers for air quotes.

Merlin’s eyes widened. “No, wait, I-”

“It’s completely fine, Merlin, honestly,” Gwaine told him, “I didn’t mean to upset you, I knew you didn’t have an easy day before then.”

“Gwaine, I… it wasn’t like that. I was just… yeah, I was having an off-day, I suppose. A very… very, off-day. Won’t happen again, I promise. I really didn’t mean that at all.”

“It’s already forgotten.”

Merlin sent Gwaine a grateful smile. “What about you, then?” Merlin said, tapping Gwaine’s shoe with his own. “Why are you here and not at training? Where you’re supposed to be?”

“More interesting things to do.”

“Cleaning boots?”

Gwaine grinned. “Spending time with you. Better than training, I’d say. Besides, Arthur overrode Uther’s ‘no peasant knights’ rule for me, I’m sure he won’t mind too much.” He winked at Merlin.

“Ha, I’m sure.”

Merlin set the cleaned boot back down on the table, and admired the line of shiney footwear. “Thank you for this, Gwaine. This would’ve been such a boring job to do by myself.”

“Of course,” Gwaine replied, standing up the same time as Merlin. “Anytime, honestly. Just ask.”

“I will,” Merlin smiled at him. “But, you really should get to training now, before you’re mucking out the stables with me as punishment.”

“It’s like I said, Merlin, spending time with you is a reward, no matter what we’re doing together.” As he said this, Gwaine moved closer to the door.

Merlin stood up more straight at the compliment. “Thank you! But hopefully we can spend more time together doing something that isn’t my chores soon? Tomorrow?”

“It’s a date,” Gwaine said, waving to Merlin as he stepped out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a favorite even though i wrote most of it in maybe under an hour? ngl


End file.
